New Rider looking for advice between a few options

Hey Everyone!

I am a relatively new rider looking at a few options and was wondering what people had to say. At the moment I'm a pretty infrequent rider but I'm looking to change that so I want my first purchase to at least last me a little while and allow me to tackle some different terrain as I progress.

I know these aren't huge price differences given what you can spend on new bikes but does anyone have any experience with any of these models or brands good and bad... Are the Trail 7 and MX40 good enough to hold their own with the Timberjack and MX10? Or is it just not enough money to justify those cheaper options and I should save myself the headache and bite the bullet..?

I'm about 5'8" 140lbs, and live in Southern CA so not much mud or wet riding at all.

Fit aside (not that it's unimportant, it's the most important), the air forks in the second "group" of bikes are a serious step up in capability/ride quality over the first group.

The only type of new rider post more common than what should I get for my first bike at X low price point, is how/what should I upgrade my fork to (and frequently the answer to that contains some nasty surprises in terms of cost and/or availability). Ask me how I know!

Unless you have serious doubts about whether you will continue to ride, the Timberjack or MX10 will be worth the investment. Not only is the price differential on both bikes less than the cost of a fork upgrade, you get a smattering of other, better components, as well. I am rather fond of 1x11 drivetrains, but it's a personal preference and is not such a big deal overall. Therefore, I might pick the Timberjack of the two. But Orbea riders tend to swear by the overall characteristics of the bikes. Also, the Orbea has a pretty tried and true entry-level fork, whereas the TJ has kind of a new kid on the block.

Back to the fit thing. There's getting the right sized frame and there's also getting things adjusted to fit you. There's also just the way you feel on/in the bike, once the properly sized frame is selected. This is probably the most important criterion /a in choosing between these two bikes, or any others you may consider.

I sat there going over the specs on each of them for ever, but really wasn't sure what I was looking for or what was better, given I'm not too familiar with the specific components yet.

The TJ definitely was the one I was leaning towards but needed a bit more justification than I could provide myself. Now hopefully the shop that is supposed to have them around here will be able to get one for me (they're hard to find at the moment)

It seems like the TJ is the one and was my first choice as well. Looks like I may be waiting a couple weeks till the 2019 comes out though, can't find any shops out here that still have one in my size.

I'm currently riding an older borrowed Giant xtc. I'm in the Los Angeles area, and haven't been on many of the trails in the area, aside from the trails/roads in griffith park and random two tracks in the desert (joshua tree) when I'm out there with friends. Hence the upgrade and commitment to try and get a rig that I feel comfortable on and can ride as my own.